'His talent is insane' — Saka issues challenge to Arsenal wonderkid

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Bukayo Saka has described Max Dowman's ability as "insane" — and told the 16-year-old that the rest is now in his own hands.

Dowman has continued to force his way into first-team conversations at Arsenal, most recently scoring twice in the Gunners' 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich Town. The first of those goals arrived via a jinking run and a powerful finish, the kind of moment that has become increasingly routine for a player who does not turn 17 until New Year's Eve.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live ahead of England's upcoming Nations League fixtures, Saka was asked about the teenager's development.

"His talent is insane," Saka said of the Arsenal academy product, as reported by the Evening Standard. "It's up to him how far he's going to go in football. That's what I would say. But, yes, his talent, it's crazy."

A record collection before his 17th birthday

The list of milestones Dowman has already collected reads like a career's worth of footnotes compressed into 18 months.

He became the Premier League's youngest-ever scorer last season when he netted on the break against Everton at the Emirates Stadium. He is also the youngest player ever to appear in the Champions League, having done so at 15, as well as Arsenal's youngest-ever starter and the youngest-ever Premier League title winner.

The England Under-19 international's two-goal showing against Ipswich was another reminder that the step up in physicality — often the stumbling block for players of his age — has not slowed him down.

Saka speaks from experience

There is a certain weight to the advice coming from Saka specifically. The winger broke into Arsenal's first team as a teenager himself and has since become the most consistent attacking presence at the club, so the message about talent only taking a player so far is one he has lived.

Saka's framing — "it's up to him" — shifts the focus from Dowman's ceiling to his habits, which is the challenge every young Arsenal graduate eventually faces once the novelty of the record-breaking headlines fades.

Saka was also asked during the same interview whether England are closing in on a first trophy since 1966.

"Yes. I think how far we're going in the tournaments [explains why]," the right-winger replied. "Obviously, we know we have the quality, but I'm saying how far we go in the tournaments, how close we come. It's just that it says it in itself."

England face Spain, Czechia and Croatia across four Nations League matches over the next three weeks.

For Dowman, the immediate task is maintaining the trajectory that has already produced Champions League minutes, Premier League goals and a Carabao Cup brace before his 17th birthday. The next few months will show how much of that ceiling he intends to reach.